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As Brexit negotiations continue, and we wait to understand fully the fate of EU children and families in the UK, it is more important than ever that we ensure those who have grown up here are able to engage with the immigration system and build their futures in this country. Then we will all benefit from the full contribution of the motivated young people in our communities, and can truly celebrate inclusion and justice in this country.

The weather in Lesvos is improving, the sea is calmer and clearer, and so the number of migrants making the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe is increasing. So are the deaths. So far 2,365 people have perished since January this year.

If we're serious about continuing to be a compassionate, global Britain we must act now to uphold not only our moral but legal duty to children who desperately need us, and desperately need to be with their family.

Our sole mission is to save the lives of people, particularly children, who are escaping violence, persecution and extreme poverty. We save people from drowning and if we stopped, the death toll would only increase further.

There is a bunch of people, again a minority, that think patriotism is about being militant and British to the bone. The fact is we are all children of immigration, we all have and will continue to benefit from immigration.

Britain cannot escape from the reality of its demographics. We are an ageing nation, in need of young people to sustain the society we take for granted. Our current response to this predicament is akin to squaring a circle.

Never once in a professional kitchen have I heard complaint about 'bloody foreigners taking our jobs'. Far more likely to be discussed over the stoves is a lack of staff and desire. It is of paramount importance and deep concern that current post-election,Theresa May's playing politics with post-brexit Government proposals will have Britain's restaurant industry on it's knees. Don't let this happen. Please vote.

Until the EU provides safe and legal routes for those seeking safer futures, people - including children like Tarek - will continue to risk their lives to reach the sanctuary of Europe. The 300 people on board the Vos Hestia will be far from the last, and the Mediterranean will continue to be a mass unmarked grave for children.

Child refugees have been emphatically failed by the British government. Wanting to help children is a worthy impulse. But in the end we have to engage with, both the children and, their families. Waves of migrants are moving across Western Europe driven by war and famine. So far European governments have tried to deal with the problem with barbed wire, walls, bulldozing encampments and criminalising the migrants themselves. There has to be a better and more sustainable response. We need much more genuine co-operation between European governments, whether they are in Schengen or not. Sadly, with Britain leaving the EU, better co-operation seems further away than ever.

I am proud of the people across the country who decided to get involved in something like this for the first time, of the British born people people, migrants and refugees who organised events and activities across the country, and the people who came out to support them.

The number of people who died trying to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean has reached an all-time high and is becoming comparable to what Médecins Sans Frontières is used to seeing in warzones, with the UN Migration Agency recording at least 5,079 deaths last year.

Why are populist politicians popular today? Because they give people a chance to blame someone else for their problems. The others. The foreigners. The aliens. The people who don't belong to OUR country. If populists are such con artists, why do people fall for them?

Migration Crisis

About Migration Crisis

The Huffington Post UK's coverage of the European migration crisis, which is seeing hundreds of thousands of people trying to leave the Middle East and North Africa. Many are fleeing conflict and violence, especially from Syria after four years of devastating civil war. Others come from countries including Eritrea, Afghanistan and Nigeria, in the biggest movement of people in Europe since the Second World War. Coverage includes news on political responses to the crisis, the humanitarian issues for the refugees, border controls around Europe and problems at Calais as people try to reach Britain from France.